"Mail Call!"

Thank you for your article on the Glock that exploded because the round was constantly reloaded. I did not know that could happen. I suppose I've only avoided this situation because I rotate magazines to save the springs and fire the rounds I carry when I practice.

However, it dawned on me that overseas, when we were in a base camp, we were required to carry rifles and pistols with a loaded magazine but no round in the chamber. Therefore, we cleared the weapon every time we returned to a base camp. Of course, we typically put the round back in the magazine and put the magazine back in the weapon. Then, for the next mission, we chambered the same round. This typically happened at least once a day.

So, depending on how "busy" we were outside and how often we rotated/cleaned the magazines, this could happen many times.

Has anyone considered whether this is a potential problem for the M4/M16?

Granted, we were pretty good on maintenance and probably unloaded, cleaned (ammo and magazines) and reloaded (probably changing the top round) about once a week whether we fired the weapon or not.

I guess I don't know how many times you could do this before you start having a problem.

Larry Fleishman
Ennis, Texas

Hi, Larry…

The jury is still out on the actual cause of that event… and not for nuthin', but "explored" is not only a bit on the dramatic side, but inaccurate.

Your question is a good one, though, and it's being submitted for comment by the usual suspects.

???

I'm new to your site since I have spent 4 tours in Afghanistan since 9/11. Would you please explain why you don't care for AOL? I'm sure you have a good reason, but it is lost on me as I read your columns. Anyway, keep up the good work. It is always refreshing to read the truth concerning firearms (among other things). Thanx.

V/R
B.C. Edmonds

Nice to hear from you, CW5 (my compliments) Edmonds;

My well-known antipathy for all things AOL is equal parts personal and philosophical/political, and the latter starts with A "Firearms-Unfriendly" ISP! and the many links in the "gunmetal menu" on the upper right.

In my personal experience, the bulk of just downright fatuous E-mails have originated from AOL. Upon examination, the company really does seem to cater to the LCD of Internet users, and I enthusiastically subscribe to the sentiments of Ray Owen:

I have grown to detest the exact kind of people AOL markets to: the clueless teeming millions who have absolutely no business anywhere near a computer or on the Internet.

I'm not a patient man and, having suffered myself all these decades, suffer fools not lightly.

That said, I have some friends who use AOL, and their position on the Second Amendment and their intelligence is above question… NRA President Sandy Fromen, the late Neal Knox, a retired T-Man/shooting buddy in Little Rock, etc. They have been challenged on this issue, and reluctantly made their case. We then agree to disagree on their continued use of the ISP.

One of the greatest blunders of the Clinton-era Justice Department, following its reluctance to take up Janet Reno's offer to resign following the Branch Davidian holocaust, was allowing the merger of AOL, Time-Warner and Turner Enterprises. In one fell swoop, it gave one demonstrably Ultra-Liberal collective virtually all of our information: radio, television, cable, print-publishing (even comic books!), movies and, most critically, the emerging Internet.

And ironically, the honchos of the newly-formed mega-collective rather quickly came to realize that the AOL portion was somewhat akin to a poison pill, and began to take steps to virtually "bury" their identification with the ISP several years after the unholy alliance was created.

In the post 9/11 world{sic}. The very least would be to ask the person to secure the weapon in their vehicle, while conducting gov't business. I would expect any reasonable person to understand and accept that request.

If person{sic} was still insistent, they could be detained and the local sheriff's office would probably revoke the CCW. At the very minimal{sic}. My 2 cents.

And w-a-a-a-y over-valued even at that, Jeffrey.

I was initially going to put this on the "Silly Letters" page, but it's actually more alarming than "silly."

It's near impossible for either Consigliore Firriolo or myself to address the concept suggested by your E-mail, but for my part, if there's a Continuing Education program or night school available near you, I'd encourage you to invest some time in an English course.

Love your web site. It is both humorous and informative. Please accept my apology for using AOL – the LCD Internet Connection.

Read your review of the Pow'r'Ball Ammo. I brought back a memory from the old "Gun Test"{sic} days…

Remember when Fat Phil (I still smile remembering his writing style and his stoning of "Bad Guns") was pushing a 9mm round called the "BAT - Blitz Action Trauma?"

Do you remember this round? It was meant to help 9mms of the period cycle hollow points. The little plastic plug over the cavity would dump shortly after leaving the barrel and the bullet would scream on to the target. The way Phil touted it – it was some sort of mystical round that fed well, exploded on impact, and never penetrated sheet rock.

Did this round do what the ads claimed it would? Comparable to the new Pow'R'Ball? (I know the Pow'R seemed to fragment more in the test you have on your site.) Whatever happened to this round? Never heard about it again after "Gun Test"{sic} moved on many, many years ago. I've asked for that "BAT" round for years only to get dumbfounded looks at the gun shops.

Keep up the Great Work!

Appreciate the nice words, CC… although I had to retrieve your AOL-generated E-mail from the "twit filter" to read them!

I need to disabuse you of several notions, though…

The title of the Engeldrum periodical you are referencing was Handgun Tests.

Gun Tests is a subscription-based newsletter that is still being published by a very stand-up gentleman named Robert Englander, who used Consumer Reports as his model.

The celebrated "BAT" round is actually the Geco "Action Safety Bullet," and bears little resemblance to the CorBon Pow'Rball either in appearance or functionality.

The German round1 has a deep cavity copper projectile with a nylon "fly-away nose-cone" to promote reliable feeding in the parabellum pistols of the day (circa 1970-85), primarily the infamously "ammo-sensitive" Browning P35s.

To the best of my knowledge, the "BAT" acronym was a marketing conceit of Phat Phil's. While he boasted that he accepted no gun manufacturer's advertising, he had several mail order accessory and ammo businesses which supplemented the newsstand and subscription sales of his Pistolero, Handgun Tests and other firearms-related titles.

Upon information and belief, the 86-grain 9X19mm Geco "Action Safety Bullet" has not been imported since the very early '90s, and before anyone asks, no!, I have never seen the .357 Magnum version which Engeldrum offered in the early '80s.

Now, for the love of Peter G. Kokalis or by whatever is sacred to you, get off of AOL! Good Gawd, man! Where's your sense of self-respect?!?

I recently discovered The Gun Zone and have been enjoying the articles on it.

I noticed some things in the video you received and link to in the article "Let's Be Careful Out There!" that purports to be of the incident involving Officer Richard Kunz' encounter in Schertz on I-35 in March of 2005.

As the police cruiser and pickup truck in the video (which doesn't happen to be a black Toyota Corolla that Michael Kennedy was driving) exit the freeway, they pass under signs identifying the exit as being for "George Park" and "Plano" which suggests that this video is from the north side of Dallas, not I-35 just northeast of San Antonio (Schertz is between San Antonio and New Braunfels and it would be unlikely in the extreme that they would have an exit sign for a city over 250 miles north on the same freeway).

I know you have already called BS on the video, but thought I'd share this just the same.

Appreciate the geographically observant back-up, Ward.

I don't know why people are so fond of doing things like that… combining disparate images and unrelated narratives, and passing them around to everyone in their E-dress book. Maybe they get confused, or they are wouldbe yellow journalists and think it makes for a better story, to hell with the accuracy. I dunno!

I just read you article and found it very informing. Thank you for it.

As for the training use only ammo. I just spent the last year over in Iraq. While I was there I read an article in the Stars and Stripes about a unit that was tasked with ammo clean up and repacking. It seems that the ammo the troops use while on deployment, if not used, is turned in at the end of there tour. Now this is ammo that has been been tossed around by troops in ammo cradles on the top of trucks out in the rain, sun and whatever the weather throws at the guys. Basically its been lugged around for the year day in and day out. The ammo is turned in and that unit cleans and inspects it. Ammo that is still usable is marked FOR TRAINING USE ONLY. It's then used for the units to train up for their deployment. I thought I had a copy of the article but I can't find it. If you can find a online version of Stars and Stripes I think it was around Dec 05 or Jan 06. Once I read that I figured that's were all the "training only" ammo on the market was coming from. It's most likely the ammo that was not good enough for reissue to the troops. Now I have no proof of this and don't know it to be fact. But it seems to make sense to me.

Regards
Sgt. Bill Cook

Dear Sgt. Cook:

Thanks very much for the information, as well as for your service to our country.

I am an 80 year old former W.W. II wounded Marine Corps machine gunner who has an ammo question for you.

I own a Charter Arms .38 snubby undercover and recently bought a box of Remington Arms 38 Special 158 grain lead bullets.

Your well written article on the Speer ammo prompted this question.

How does the Speer 135-grain +P 38 Special Gold Dot ammo compare with my box of Remington 158 grain lead bullets?

Thank you for your attention to my question.

Hello, Marine…

Ordinarily I box the ears of those who write me directly instead of going to the Forum and asking their question there (as it directs at the bottom of every TGZ page), but in deference to your service and advanced years, I'll answer to the best of my ability.

You didn't tell identify the profile of the Remington Arms 158-grain lead ammunition… assuming arguendo that you purchased standard pressure (non-+P) rounds, are they the "R38S6" semi-wadcutter (SWC) or the "R38S5" round-nose lead (RNL)?

If the former, that's not an awful choice for anti-personnel use; if the latter, it would probably be best if you used them only for target or training purposes. While they were standard police issue within my earlier years ('40s and '50s), they are woefully ineffective, over-penetrative and without much terminal effect.

The Speer 135-grain Gold Dot round, you will note, is rated as "+P," and depending on the iteration of your Charter Arms "Undercover" model, may not be… in fact, probably isn't… a good choice for such a revolver. It, like you, has made it this far, so, with respect, just as I wouldn't recommend that you take up bungee jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge, I would suggest that you not use the Speer 135-grain +P Gold Dot HPs beyond a cylinder full to get the feel of that gun shooting them, and then as "carry loads."

I purchased one of the new (Kahr) "WWII GI" Auto Ordnance Model "1911 PKZ" (Serial Number AOA052XX) according to the box. It's evidently a May '05 gun, if the fired-casing envelope is any indication.

I recall reading about your 'grave reservations' about the future of A/O under Moon. I'm afraid you were right. My new gun was haggled down and bought cheap (a shade over $300, about what I would have paid for a basic parked frame, slide and GI barrel, including shipping, taxes and FFL fees), as a platform to build a retro-gun on. There is plenty of building to do.

Slide and frame fit were GI in every respect… it looks to me like the frames are much improved over the old A/O stuff we used to see. The pin-holes were right on dimension with the original blueprint, so it's pretty much like working on a Briggs & Stratton after that. You get the spark and gas in the right place at the right time, and the damn things just can't help but run!

Aside from a poorly-polished spot at the front of the slide, finish was good. The holes and ports in the frame were crisply done, and the rails on both parts looked good.

The barrel has "chatter" marks where the rifling cutter should have cut clean, and while nothing to write home about, was serviceable. The thumb safety was all but inoperable, requiring two hands to get it into the "Safe" position. The extractor wobbled around like a loose tooth.

I found an old GI safety in my parts bin, and swapped it out. It still needs fitted, but at least you can put the gun on safe with the shooting hand now. I slapped the gun back together and loaded the mag with Wolf hardball, and started to hand-cycle the gun. It choked on the 3rd round. I cleared it and started again, and it tossed out all but the last round. I reloaded the mag and repeated, only to be rewarded with a fail-to-eject every time. With the gun cleared and locked open, I wiggled the ejector. Another loose tooth. Further inspection revealed that the front stud of the ejector had broken off flush with the frame- and the break showed that it was a very poor casting2 to begin with. This gun would not have fired a full magazine; it couldn't have. No matter how good you get the frames and slide, the design requires a properly tempered and tuned extractor, and a solidly-mounted ejector to kick the empties out. It'd be kinda nice if the safety worked, too.

The frames are indeed better – but the QC pooch has been screwed. Pity the poor 1911 buyer who gets one of these, and isn't an inveterate tinkerer or gunsmith.

Like a lot of folks, I wanted good things for Auto-Ordnance. The country needs a good blue-collar, made in America 1911.

Anyhow, I thought you might like to know for your readers' sake. Take care.

Sarge

Aw, jeez! Dire suspicions confirmed… worst fears realized! But on the positive side, it seems like you're just the kinda guy to take that puppy and "bend it to your will."

1.- Manufactured by the Geco division of Dynamit-Nobel, the projectile con­sists of a non-jacketed solid copper alloy body. The large deformation cavity and part of the smaller central channel is filled with a hard nylon core and post that creates a conventional FMJ profile. The unique design allows the plastic "nose cap" and post to separate from the copper alloy base while exiting the barrel.

This page, as with all pages in The Gun Zone, was designed with CSS, and displays at its best in a CSS1-compliant browser… which, sad to relate, yours is not. However, while much of the formatting may be "lost," due to the wonderful properties of CSS, this document should still be readable.